Packer



J. T. PHIPPS July 6, 1937.

PACKER Filed Dec. 25, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 6, 1937. J. T. PHIPPS 2,035,997.

PACKER Filed Dec. 25, 1935- 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 6 INVENTOR.

Y@ ATTORNEYS Patented July 6, 1937 UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE 6 Claims.

My invention relates to oil well packers and has particular reference to .a tool to pack olf oil well casing or tubing at any desired point along the length thereof. In the pumping of oil wells,

it is the common practice to insert in a well casing a device which closes oil' the oil well casing at a predetermined level, thereby dividing the casing into two chambers, namely the upper chamber above the packing or closure member,

10 and a lower chamber, communication between which is established by means of a tubing pipe or passage of less areathan the area of the casing through which oil or gas may pass from the lower chamber to the upper chamber. For such operation a tool commonly known as a packer is employed, this tool consisting essentially of a tubular packing element constructed of compressible or expansible material arranged between two collars which, when moved toward each 2o other, `vill squeeze the packing member out into snug engagement with the walls, of the casing, these collars being connected, respectively, to a pair of telescopically assembled members, one of which carries a wedge mechanism bearing g5 casing-engaging slips set into operation by means of the usual anchors, while the other of which is siidable with reference to the rst telescopic member after the slips have been set to hold the rst member in xed relation in the casing.

30 These packers, however, as commonly employed, are provided with some means to prevent the dragging of the anchor mechanism on the casing from setting the slips until the tool has been moved to a predetermined level in the cas- 35 ing, at which time this holding mechanism is released to allow the further movement of the tool to cause the anchors to set the slips into gripping relation with the casing.

In most of these prior tools, the slip mecha- ..10 nism and the anchor mechanism have been secured at the lower end of the tool so that if there are obstructions in the well casing they engage the slips, causing them to be set before the tool has been moved into its desired posi- 47, tion and the tool must then be backed up and the obstruction removed before the device can be placed at its desired level.

In ordinary packers and similar tools the location of the slips at the lowermost portion of the 59 tools allows frequent loss of the slips. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, when a tool is set into position in the casing, the slips bite into the walls of the casing with considerable force and when the tool is backed up to dis- 55 engage the slips the force necessary to release the (Cl. 16B-l2) slips frequently 'breaks the slips and there being nothing on the tool below the slips to engage or hold the slips, such broken slips fall down into the hole and are lost in the well.

It is also the common practice to employ some 5 valve mechanism through the fluid passage extending through the packer, whereby the pressure of a column of fluid above the packer is allowed to ow down through the packer when it is desired to disengage the packer and move it to a 10 new position, thus making it unnecessary that the entire packing mechanism be elevated against the fluid pressure existing above the packers. Such valve arrangements have ordinarily been of such character that only a rela- 15 tively small uid passage is permitted, which frequently clogs, or which is so small that considerable time is required for the release of the pressure above the tool.

It is, therefore, an object of my invention to ,20 provide an improved packer, wherein the lowermost end of the packer is provided with a guard means which protects the slips from inadvertent engagement With the walls of the casing, or obstructions therein, during the movement of the packer through the casing.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tool as set forth in the preceding paragraph, wherein such guard means constitutes also a guard for preventing disassembly of the slips from the remainder of the tool and prevents the loss of the slips.

Another object of the invention is to provide a packer of the character set forth, wherein the entire interior of the tool is available as a fluid passage through the tool.

Another object of the invention is to provide a packer as set forth in the preceding paragraph, wherein one of the telescopic members employed in the tool constitutes a relatively large tubing through which uid may flow, and-which tubing constitutes a valve permitting bypass of uid around the packer during the time the packer is being set into position, and during the time it is being removed from the said position.

Another object of my invention is to provide a new and novel mounting means for slips which may be employed with my packer construction.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from a study of the following specifications, read in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure l is a vertical elevational view of a packer constructed in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view, taken through the packer shown in Fig. 1, and illustrating the same in its free position prior to being set into place in the casing;

Figure 3 is a sectional view, similar to Fig. 2, illustrating the relation of the parts when the packer is set into fixed position in the casing;

Figure 4 is a sectional view, taken along line IV-IV of Fig. 1; and

Figure 5 is a detail sectional view taken along line V-V of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings, I have illustrated a section of oil well casing at A, representing a. typical section of an oil well at which it is desired to set a packer. I have illustrated my packer as including a body member I which may be formed oi' a plurality of sections, such as an upper tubu Vas screw threads 5.

A third section of the body member is formed as a nipple 6, which may be formed integrally with, or may be secured to, the cone section 3, as indicated at threads 1.

Telescopically assembled within the body member I is a mandrel 8 preferably constructed in the form of a nipple or section of pipe having a fluid passage 9 extending therethrough, the upper end of the mandrel 8, being threaded, as indicated at I0, to permit attachment thereto of a coupling II by which flow-tubing or other pipe may be secured to permit oil to flow upwardly to the surface of the ground.

A rubber packing member is illustrated at I2 as comprising a tubular section of rubber fabric or other compressible material, well known in the art, and which is selected for its characteristic of being capable of expanding or squeezing outwardly when pressure is applied to the upper and lower ends of the tubular packing member I2. The packing member I2 is illustrated as being seated at its lower end in a packing seat or collar I3 formed upon or attached to the upper end oi' the body member 2, while a similar collar member I4 is formed to engage the upper end of the cylindrical packing member I2, as indicated at I5. It will thus be observed that by moving the collars I3 and I4 toward each other the rubber or similar packing I2 lying between them will be compressed longitudinally, and will expand or squeeze out laterally toward the side walls of the casing A, thus forming a sealing engagement therewith. In order to prevent the inward expansion of the packing member I2, a backing sleeve I6 is provided, preferably secured to the upper collar I4 by threads indicated at I'I so that the backing sleeve I6 moves with the upper collar I4. It will be noted that the sleeve I6 is slidable within the upper section 2 of the body member I so that by fixing. the body member at the desired point in the well, pressure applied to the upper collar I4 will compress the packing member I2 into sealing engagement with the casing.

In order to fix or set the body member I in xed relation at a desired point in the casing, I provide a plurality of casing-engaging slips I8 having teeth I9 formed thereon to engage and dig into the interior walls of the casing whenever the slips I8 are moved into engagement with the casing.

As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the slips are each formed as a segment of a cylinder, the outer surface of which is generally cylindrical in shape and bears the teeth I9.

while the inner surface of each of the slips is formed with a taper, indicated at 20, adapted to engage the tapered surface 2| of the cone or wedge member 4.

It will also be understood by those skilled in the art, that the size and shape of the cone member 4 is such that when the tool is in its normal, free position the slips I8 will be in their contracted position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, being spaced inwardly to such position as to prevent them from'engaging the walls of the casing, thus permitting the tool to be moved freely up and down in the casing without engagement between the slips and the casing.

However, when it is desired to set the slips into operation, it is only necessary to stop the downward movement of the slips, while downward movement of the cone 4 is continued. For this purpose, I provide an anchor mechanism 22 for supporting the slips, which anchor mechanism may be of any desired construction, though I prefer to provide a collar 23 surrounding the body section 2, but freely slidable thereon, to which collar is attached a plurality of bowed springs 24, one for each of the slips employed, the lower ends of the springs 24 being secured to a second collar 25 freely slidable upon the body section 3. The bowed springs 24 extend outwardly beyond the periphery of the remaining parts of the tool to normally engage the inner walls of the casing A and to drag thereon during the downward movement of the tool through the casmg.

Each of the slips I 8 is connected to the collar 25 by means of a strap or rein 26, the upper end of the rein being secured as by means of a screw 21 engaging loosely in a slot 28 in the collar 25, while the lower end of the rein 26 is bent inwardly as indicated at 29 and is secured to the slip I 8 by means of a bolt or screw 30 preferably having a rounded head to engage in a semispherical seat 3| formed in the slip I8 to constitute a ball and socket joint therewith, allowing the slip to have substantially free movement in all directions about the screw 30.

As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the bowed springs 24, dragging on the casing, normally cause the entire mechanism to slide upwardly on the body sections 2 and 3 unless restrained from such movement. Thus when it is desired to lower the tool into a well casing, a pin 32 on the body section 3 is placed in engagement with a bayonet slot 33 formed in the anchor collar 25 to prevent movement of the collar 25 longitudinally on the body I. However, when the tool has been moved to the desired level in the casing, a rotation of the tool in a right-hand direction will cause the pin 32 to move into alignment with the vertical leg 34 of the bayonet slot 33 and then subsequent lowering of the body member I will leave the anchor free to remain stationary in the casing, while the remainder of the tool moves downwardly. 'I'his downward movement of the remainder of the tool, particularly the cone section 4 of the body member, while the anchor 22 and the slips I8 are prevented from downward movement, will cause the tapered or wedged shaped cone member 4 to move down past the slips I8, squeezing these slips outwardly into engagement with the walls of the casing. 'I'he cone section 4 of the body member is preferably hollow, as indicated at 35, so that the extreme lower end of the cone member is con- 4 to slidably receive therein the'head 31 of a T-headed screw or-bolt 38 attached to the slips. I8, theextr'eme outer -end 39 of the head 31 of the bolt 38 being preferably of greater width than the slot 36 so as. to engage the rear surface of the cone section 4 to prevent the slips from falling away from the cone,while permitting free longitudinal movement of -the slips relative to the cone.

I prefer to form'the section 39 of the bolt 38 of rectangular crossv section, having one of its dimensions greater than the slot, while the other of its dimensions is slightly smaller than the slot so that` by rotating the slip through an angle'- of 90 to the position shown in Fig. 1, the head .3l- 39 of the bolt 3 8'may be inserted through.

the slot and `then the slot lmay be rotated back tothe position shownin Fig. 1, thus securing the slip to the cone by a key and `slot construction. The employment of the bolt and slot construction herein` described provides a ready means for attaching the slip or of removing a. broken or worn slip without requiring disassembly of any other parts of the tool other than disconnection of .the'rein from the particular slip which is to be inserted or removed.

It willalso be observed that the lowermost section 6 of the body member is provided with a radially extending ilange 40 which may be rigidly secured thereto by any suitable means, such as welding, indicated at 4I. 'I'he radial flange 40 is preferably formed of a diameter just slightly less than the diameter of the casing A in which the tool is to be employed, and I prefer that the lower surface of the flange 40 be beveled as indicated in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 so thatths flange constitutes a guard moving downwardly withthe tool in advance of the slips I8. As illustrated herein, the slips I8, when in their normal retracted position, have all of their surfaces lying within the limits of the flange 48 so that any obstructions in the casing A would be encountered by the! flange before such obstructions could engage the slips. The movement of the guard. ange 40 therefore protects the slips vagainst accidental setting into gripping. relabe 'adhering to the casing and which would otherwise interefere with the insertion of the tool.

The location Aof the flange 40 onl the body sec tion is preferably such that when the anchor 22 is in its normal position, as shown in Fig. 1, the lower ends of the slips I8 will rest upon the flange 40. It will, therefore, be observed that after the tool has been set into one position in the well and it isdesired to move it, upward movement of the body member I to withdraw 4the cone 4 .from the slips I8 will allow the slips to be free y to move. inwardly/ out of the casing-,engaging position, and, in the event that one or more -of the slips should bind on the casing the upward movement of the body member will bring the flange 48 into abutting relation with the :lower ends of the slips and positively lift them up 'l wardly in the casing, releasing them from gripping relation with the casing. Moreover, should one` of the slips become broken, ordisengaged from the remainder of the tool, as by breakage of the bolts 38 or of the reins 26, the flange 40 3 will pick up such slip and remove it from the hole without danger of its falling from the -tool into the well.

' It will also. be observed that by forming the cone member of hollow construction it may bev .5 l l rendered relatively light in weight, as by forming it as a length oirelatively thin walled tubing, as indicated at 42, while the tapered surfaces 0n which the slips are wedged outwardly may comprise a. plurality of wings 43 built up upon or ex- 10 tending outwardly from the tubular section 42. These wings 43 are located in groups of two each for each of the slips, the pair of wings in each group constituting two spaced tapered .bearing surfaces upon which the slips may ride, while the l5 upper ends of the wings 4.3 project outwardly to approximately the same distanceY as thefiange 48 projects to form a stabilizer or guide on ythe tool above the slips I8.. Theupper ends of these wings, indicated at 44, therefore constitute a 20 guard of solid material above the slips protecting .these slips from injury when the tool islifted in the casing.

Upon the setting* of the slips I8 into engagement with the walls of the casing by the down- 25 ward movement of the cone 4,` relative to the slips and anchor, thef body member will be wedged in the casing at the desired level and further downward movement of the body member will therefore be prevented. Thus with the v30 body member I fixed against further downward movement in the casing, the packer I2 may be set into sealing relation with the casing by producing a downward movement of the collar I4, relative to the body member I. This is prefer- 35 ably accomplished by-moving the mandrel I0 v'downwardly through the body member I until the coupling II abuts the collar I4. Thus further downward pressure exerted upon the coupling II will cause.the collar I4to press downi0 wardly upon the packer I2, expanding the packer out into engagement with the walls of the casing. e

It will also be understood by those skilled in the art that the packer is frequently required 4.5 to be placed below the level of the iluid in the-- well casing sothat as the packer is moved down through thecasing, andthrough the fluid, the

. fluid will be required vto pass around the small space permitted by the contracted diameterof 50 the packer I2. However, this wouldconstitute considerable resistance to the movement of the packer and it is desirable to provide other uid passages through the packer. By constructing the lower section 6 of the body I as a nipple or 55 "tube, uid below the packer may pass upwardly therethrough and through the hollow mandrel 8. Also, fluid may pass upwardly around the exterior of the nipple 6 vand along the exterior of the body sections-@4, 3 and 2, and a bypass may C0 be provided for relieving such uld below the packer. I2 by providing a. plurality of ports 45 in the mandrel 8 and by providing a plurality of ports 46 in the upper section 2 of the body member I, so that ilud flowing up around the ex`c5 vterior of the tool may pass inwardly'through the ports 46 and 45 and upwardly through the mandrel 8. It is also desirable that such uid as is bypassed through the mandrel 8 may be permitted to escape exteriorly of. the mandrel upon the upper side of the packer I2, and for this purpose a plurality of ports 41 may be provided in the mandrel 8,- communicating with the well casing above the collar I4. v

When the. packing tool has been set into place,

iwi"

upon the upper end of the mandrel Iiwhdor' this purpose it is desirable that the ports 45 and 41 should be closed olf at this time.

By referring to Figs. 2 and 3, it will be observed that when the packing tool is in its free position-(that is as it is being moved up and down in the wein-the extended position of the mandrel is such that the ports 45 are open for communication with the well casing below the packer I2, while, at the same time, the ports 41 are also open for communication with the well casing above the packer I2.

However, when the packing tool has been set in place and the packer I2 compressed, the mandrel 8 will have been moved downwardly relative to the body member I, to the position shown in Fig. 3, at which time the ports 45 and 41 will be closed olf. The ports 41 are preferably located in the mandrel 8 at a position immediately above the collar I4, and the spacing between the backing sleeve I6 for the packer I2 and the exterior of the mandrel 8, includes a sleeve member 48 which will act as a shut-off for the ports 41. The sleeve 48 is preferably located in a longitudinally extendin'g recess 49 formed in the backing sleeve I6, between the lower end of which and the lower end of the sleeve 48 I provide a ring of packing material 50, while a similar ring I is located at the upper end of the sleeve 48 adapted to be compressed when the coupling II presses downwardly upon the collar I4. It will be observed that the opening 52 in the collar I4 is such that it will permit the coupling II to pass through the upper end of the collar I4 so as to come to rest upon a washer 53 located above the ring of packing material 5I.

Thus the downward pressure of the coupling II,

necessary to expand or compress the packer I2, will be transmitted through the packing rings 50 and 5I and the sleeve 48 to the backing sleeve I 6, and thus tighten the packing around the mandrel 8.

At the time, however, that this compression of the packer I2 and the packing rings 50, 5I occurs, the mandrel will have been moved down into the body member a sufficient distance to bring the ports 41 into alignment with the sleeve 48 to close off the ports 41 with a packed seal, and thus close the bypass which up to this time has permitted fluid to flow outwardly in the casing above the packer I2.

In like manner the lower ports 45 are located in such position that when the mandrel is in its extended position, as shown in Fig. 2, these ports will be immediately above a series of packing rings 54, but when the mandrel is in the contracted position, as shown in Fig. 3, the ports 45 will have been moved downwardly past the packing rings 5.4 and there will be no opportunity for fluid to flow into or through the body member at any point other than through the nipple 6.

As will be understood by those skilled in the art, when the packing tool has been set into operation below the level of the fluid in the well, the column of fluid above the well will resist removal or disengagement of the packing tool and particularly when there is a relatively tall column of fluid above the packer great force is required to be exerted to lift the collar I4 sulciently to allow the packer I2 to lreturn to its 'contracted position free of the walls of the casY ing. However, by employing the bypass formed by the mandrel 8 and its ports 45, 41, the lifting of the mandrel member provides a bypass through the ports 41-45 preventing the necessity of lifting the entire column of fluid when the packer is to be released; Further, to assist in the lifting of the mandrel member to create the bypass, I may provide a relatively heavy spring 55 interposed between the lower end of the body section 3, which spring normally holds the mandrel in its extended position, but which is compressed upon the exertion of downward force upon the ilow pipe or tubing string when the packer is set into place. Hence the elevation of the flow pipe or tubing string to release the packer will be assisted by the forces which have been accumulated in the spring 55.

Since it is necessary to slightly rotate the tool when the desired level is reached, I provide a plurality of pins 56 secured to and extending radially from the mandrel 8 through the ports 46 in the body section 2. These pins, operating in the elongated slots forming the ports 46, will permit free vertical movement of the mandrel relative to the body member, but will connect the mandrel and body members together against rotation relative to each other.

It will therefore be observed that I have provided a packing tool in which the anchor and slip mechanism necessary for securing the body of the tool to the wall of the casing is located below the packing member I2 but which is protected against injury by two guard mechanisms, namely the flange 40 which guards the lower ends of the slips and the guards 42 which protect the upper ends of the slips and the slip reins. Further, the flange 40 and the wings 43 being spaced longitudinally along the tool, constitute casing-engaging stabilizers which hold the tool substantially centered in the casing while it is moving downwardly or upwardly therethrough and act as bearing guides permitting the tool to follow any small dents or depressions encountered in the casing.

It will be observed that I have provided a slip construction which is guarded both above and below' the slips to prevent injury to the slips as the tool is set into place, while, at the same time, the guard flange 40 acts as a pick-up slip, preventing loss of slips should they become broken or damaged or separated from the remainder of the tool.

It will also be observed that I have provided a relatively simple bypass construction, wherein substantially the entire interior of the tool constitutes a fluid passage through which fluid may be bypassed around the packer I2 when it is moved into and out of its set position, while a simple valve construction constituted as mere ports in the mandrel member acts as a cutoff valve closing this bypass by the same movement of the packer which causes the packer to be set into active position in the well or causes it to be removed from such active position.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, I do not wish to be limited to any of the details of construction shown herein, except as deilned in thevappended. claims.

I claim: v I

1. In a packingvtool for well casings, a body member, a mandrel telescopically mounted therein for longitudinal movementl relative to said body member, means carried by said body member for engaging said casing to fix the position of said body member at a predetermined level in said casing, a packing member normally contracted to permit passage of such packing member through said casing and expansible upon movement of said mandrel relative to said body member, a

uid passage through said mandrel, and ports in lo said mandrel above and below said packing member communicating with the interior of the casing above and below said packing member.

2. In a packing tool for well casings, a' body member, a mandrel telescopically mounted therel5 in for longitudinal movement relative to said body member, means carried by said body member for engaging said casing to fix the position of said body member at a predetermined level `in said casing, a packing member normally con- 20-tracted to permit passage of said packing member through said casing and expansible upon movement of said mandrel relative to said body member, a fluid passage through said mandrel, and ports in said mandrel above and below said 25 packing member communicating with the interior of the casing above and below said packing member, and means on said body member for closing said ports when said mandrel is moved downwardly relative to said body member.

3. In a packing tool for well casings, a body member, a. hollow tubular mandrel telescopically mounted in said body member for longitudinal movement relative thereto, means carried by said body member for engaging said casing to x the 35 position of said body member at a predetermined level in said casing, a packing member carried by said body member, normally contracted to permit passage of said packing member through said casing and expansible to engage and seal against said casing when said mandrel member is moved downwardly in said body member through a predetermined distance, a fluid bypass around said packing member including ports in said mandrel member communicating between 45 said casing and said hollow mandrel above said packing member and other ports in said mandrel member communicating between said casing and the interior of said mandrel member below said packing member.

`50 4. In a packing tool for well casings, a. body member, a mandrel telescopically mounted therein for longitudinal movement relative to said body member, means carried by said body member for engaging said casing to fix the position of said body member at a predetermined level in said casing, a packing Jmember normally contracted to permit passage of such packing member through said casing and expansible upon movement of said mandrel relative to said body member, a fluid passage throughv said mandrel, ports in said mandrel above and below said packing member communicating with the interior of the casing above and below said packing member, and means on said body member engaging said mandrel member to close said ports when said mandrel member is moved downwardly in said body member to expand said packing member.

5. Ina slip and cone construction for oil well tools, a body member having a tapered surface thereon, a plurality of slips in said body member extending longitudinally thereof, a plurality of slips engageable with the tapered surface of said body member to be removed thereby from a normally free position to an active position engaging the casing of an oil well, the upper end of the tapered portion of said body member extending outwardly beyond the surface of the slips when said slips are in their free positions, a T-head bolt secured to each of said slips and extending through said slots to hold said slips on said body member.

6. In a slip and cone construction for oil well tools, a body member having a tapered surface thereon, a plurality of slips in said body member extending longitudinally thereof, a plurality of slips engageable with the tapered surface of said body member to be removed thereby from a normally free position to an active position engaging the casing of an oil well, the upper end of the tapered portion of said body member extendingl outwardly beyond the surface of the slips when said slips are in their free position, a T-head bolt secured to each of said slips and extending through said slots to hold said slips on said body member, the cross bar of said T having a width less than the width of said slot and having a length greater than the width of said slot and secured to said slip with the longer dimension extending at right angles to the longitudinal axis of said slip.

JOHN T. PHIPPS. 

